One-Armed Robber, a free-to-play low poly indie game where you can carry out heists, has just recently been released. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
One-Armed Robber Review Overview
One-Armed Robber Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Awesome Art Style and Graphics Stealth Missions are Like Puzzles |
So Much Better With Friends Clunky Combat |
One-Armed Robber Overall Score - 68/100
One-Armed Robber makes robbing banks and museums look fun, with its cartoonish art-style and smooth graphics. However, doing the robbing just isn’t something I found fun, which is bad for a game only involving heists. Combat is really bad in this game. Despite being free-to-play, it still isn’t something I’d recommend, given how there are great free-to-play games currently dominating the landscape, and for good reason.
One-Armed Robber Story - 6/10
One-Armed Robber doesn’t have a story. You just play as a robber who carries out heists. The catch is you can only use one arm, and so do your heist buddies. You don’t literally have just one arm as you have all four limbs. It’s just that the other arm is kind of just hanging there. I feel like the one-armed thing was better executed in One-Armed Cook, another game from the same developers as this one, and missed the mark with One-Armed Robber.
One-Armed Robber Gameplay - 6/10
The game lets you decide how you carry out your heists. You can do it either loud with guns blazing, or stealthy and quietly. In my experience, figuring out how to properly secure the valuables without anyone alerting the police felt rewarding as it's somewhat like a puzzle itself. However, combat in this game needs a lot more work and feels overall clunky, which makes loud heists pretty lackluster considering they’re combat-oriented.
One-Armed Robber Visuals - 9/10
I love the low poly art style of the game and how it looks. Its vibrant color schemes and overall simplicity is a delight to look at. Most importantly, it consistently ran smoothly at 144FPS, with no issues whatsoever.
One-Armed Robber Audio - 5/10
One-Armed Robber is very limited in terms of audio. There isn’t even a soundtrack. The only sounds that are heard are ones that matter, like alarms going off, gunshot sounds, and glass breaking. The few sounds that are present work fine to let you know what’s happening in the game, but aren’t all that impressive.
One-Armed Robber Value for Money - 8/10
One-Armed Robber is free, for the most part. There are currently 5 levels in total, but you have to pay for two of those. Weapons and gear could all be grinded out and unlocked for free. It’s also only less than 1GB, which saves you a lot of space compared to other games. However, I could name a whole lot of free-to-play games better worth your time.
One-Armed Robber Review | The Payday 3 At Home
The game prioritizes fun more than anything, as seen in the game’s lighthearted graphics and art style that embody the word fun, and the entire do-everything-with-one-arm gimmick. You play as this robber who, for reasons unknown, only uses one hand. Not that you don’t have two, because you do. Maybe your character lost the ability to move his arm after a stroke? Who knows? Because of this, you’ll carry out your heists rather awkwardly, with you being able to carry and use just one thing at a time. It’s easy to lose track of your things, so try to keep them in your duffle bag.
You have two ways to go about your heists. Whether you come in loud or use stealth tactics to remain undetected is completely up to you. However, if you do things loud, you’ll be swarmed by police officers and SWAT personnel. This brings us to the first problem of the game, combat is pretty bad. While I wasn’t expecting Call of Duty levels of gunplay at all, I still feel somewhat let down. Combat feels clunky and there’s no joy in killing the enemy units sent your way. Moreover, the game puts you in with only five magazines for both your weapons. While that sounds like enough on paper, the numerous SWAT personnel take so many bullets before they’re actually dead. It’s not really challenging to take them down, since it’s easy to control the guns’ recoil, and feels more like an annoying hindrance than anything else.
Stealth missions, on the other hand, feel more complex. At times, it felt like a puzzle game where you avoid detection, quickly take out threats, tie up the hostages, and escape with the loot. Alarms, cameras, security guards, and civilians must either be taken down or avoided to prevent the cops from being alerted. With each run, you’ll understand the layout of the target site better, and you could plan accordingly.
There are two maps you could play right away - the jewelry store and the museum. Both are pretty complex locations with big loot inside, and an entirely different way to approach things stealthily. Sadly, loud missions are more or less the same thing where you try to secure the loot while you kill everyone who tries to stop you. A third map will unlock when you reach a certain level, and the last two maps are something you have to pay for.
As you level up, you’ll have access to better weapons and equipment. However, these weapons are pretty much interchangeable with each other, with only the semi-auto rifle feeling completely different. The equipment is helpful though as there are more unique and helpful things, like the C4 for breaching or the camera blinder for better stealth.
Pros of One-Armed Robber
| Things One-Armed Robber Got Right |
|---|
|
Awesome Art Style and Graphics Stealth Missions are Like Puzzles |
Awesome Art Style and Graphics
I honestly had low expectations for the game visually, considering how unimpressed I was upon seeing gameplay footage from the trailers. However, I was amazed by how fun and pleasant it actually looked. The playful color schemes go perfectly with the low poly graphic art of this game. Moreover, it ran smoothly at 144FPS at all times, with no bugs whatsoever.
Stealth Missions are Like Puzzles
Just like in real life, valuables are often kept in secure places. There are several defenses set to keep robbers at bay, so you’ll have to figure out how to get past them. The game doesn’t hold your hand, and trusts your ability to solve these puzzles yourself. Because it’s mentally stimulating, it feels fulfilling to finally pull off your first perfect heist.
Cons of One-Armed Robber
| Things That One-Armed Robber Can Improve |
|---|
|
So Much Better With Friends Clunky Combat |
So Much Better With Friends
Heists are almost never one-man jobs. You’ll often find the need for an extra hand, and the heists go much smoother with one. After all, two is better than one. When committing crimes, cops would often rudely interrupt your shenanigans and you’d have to deal with them first before you could go back to the task at hand. It’s nice to have someone else deal with the cops when you have your hand full.
Clunky Combat
The combat in this game is notably bad. For one, the SWAT personnel are really hard to kill, taking like 7 bullets to kill. While that’s not really a big problem itself, it means you’ll have to blow through your ammo supply very quickly, leaving you defenseless if you don’t save. They take a while to kill, but it’s not really hard whatsoever. Moreover, they’re pretty stupid and you’ll find them doing stupid things like aimlessly walking towards a random spot, only to randomly turn around and start shooting out in the open.
Is One-Armed Robber Worth It?
It’s Free, But I Wouldn’t Recommend It
While the game does indeed look beautiful, and a large part of the game is free, it’s probably something you’ll play just once and forget about right away. Combat is bad, boring, and uninteresting in this game. There are tons of better games out there of the same genre, and the same price of free.
One-Armed Robber Overview & Premise
You’re a one-armed robber who partakes in robbing establishments like stores, museums, and banks. It’s not like you don’t have another arm by the way. You have two but only use one, with your left arm just hanging there, even when firing large assault rifles that typically require two hands. Should you choose to go on a heist with friends, they also have just one functioning arm.
One-Armed Robber FAQ
Is One-Armed Robber related to One-Armed Cook?
One-Armed Cook was made by the same developers, Duhndal. They feature the same controls and art style, but aren’t related in other ways.
One-Armed Robber Trailer
Game8 Reviews
One-Armed Robber Product Information
 |
|
| Title | ONE-ARMED ROBBER |
|---|---|
| Release Date | December 15, 2023 |
| Developer | Duhndal |
| Publisher | Duhndal |
| Supported Platforms | Microsoft Windows |
| Genre | Action, Indie |
| Number of Players | Single-player, Online Co-op |
| ESRB Rating | - |
| Official Website | One-Armed Robber Website |
